


When the Rain Stops

by The_Mistaken_Cat



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, I'm revising this, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-06
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-02-28 08:29:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2725718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Mistaken_Cat/pseuds/The_Mistaken_Cat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was always raining in Levi's world. It didn't matter how clear and sunny the skies were, or how brightly the stars shone. All he would ever see was a world painted black and grey. His surroundings were always bleak and dreary, from the time he was an orphaned and abused child to the time he became a lost and broken adult forced into a life of crime. He had no known family. He had only two friends, but even they weren't the best company at times, nor could they truly understand him. He had nothing to live for.</p>
<p>In his whole life, the words "I love you" had never been spoken to him.</p>
<p>And they never would be.</p>
<p>--------------------------------------- ~ + ~ ---------------------------------------</p>
<p>And of course his horrible luck would throw a green-eyed brat into his already cluttered and erratic life, and in a rather painful way, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I should probably warn you that this the first FanFic I've ever posted, and that I am very new to this site. So, the characters in this are going to be anywhere to a little bit OC to a lot OC. Since this isn't the cannon universe, I had to get a little creative. Oh, and if I've misspelled a name or my grammar is off, please be sure to let me know.
> 
> I should also warn you about some of the tags I've used: this is not a Fic where Levi has a happy life or a good past. I just can't see Levi with a good childhood, and I can't see Levi being a bad-ass if he's had a great life with loving parents. In this, Levi is a very damaged/broken, anti-social man who has problems with physical contact.
> 
> He's also kind of an asshole. To everyone.
> 
> Anyway, it may be a bit rough and updates may be slow, but if you're ever bored then read this for awhile. Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fixed the formatting. Turns out, I pasted in RTF, not HTML. :p

The rain never bothered him, despite what most would think.

Levi's obsession with cleanliness and order would lead anyone to believe that the idea of walking around in drenched clothing would be appalling to him. It was amusing for those around him to assume he would hate rain because it would "ruin" the clean appearance he tended to so often; they always assumed what was furthest from the truth.

They never noticed how the rain could cleanse the filth of the world surrounding them.

He found many benefits to the downpour he was currently walking through; it left these dark streets haunting and desolate, just like his mind, and he found it comforting to think that this too is the world the rain preferred. It felt as if the weather wished to realize his desire to be left completely alone, as he found no trace of life on this deserted path. Levi was happiest when he was left to his own thoughts without disruption, and he found it difficult to actually talk to people simply because he found making the effort to be sociable tiring and unpleasant. Besides, he could do without their childish unease towards his apathetic expression, and he certainly didn't care for heir snide comments about how vulgar his speech was or how his personality was unwelcoming and unappealing.

"Tch." _Being sociable is overrated, anyway._

And yet, even with his cold and unfeeling attitude, he somehow managed to draw a few idiots to his side. Two, to be exact. His dark and ominous remarks pulled them closer, one out of genuine concern and the other out of twisted curiosity, and he came to the conclusion that they were masochists. After all, they hadn't fled in terror under his threats or his creative insults.

The first was a tall man with neatly-cut blonde hair and sky blue eyes with a sense of order that could rival his own. Erwin Smith had introduced himself with a dignified handshake (which Levi warily accepted) and a few generalized details about his life and profession. As it turns out, the man was a therapist who had an inhuman talent for sensing the broken and unstable. Erwin's speech was eloquent and welcoming, a stark contrast to Levi's own, and the man was unnervingly observant; everything Levi said or did was carefully decoded and processed, and it disturbed Levi to no end how easily Erwin could pick up on the clues of Levi's traumatic past simply by watching him. It took some time, but Levi eventually found himself giving the gentle giant various bits and pieces of his past, simply so the man could know for sure _why_ Levi acted the way he did. And Levi found that the man was careful not to trigger any painful memories when they spoke, and he was thankful that Erwin didn't press him for answers when Levi grew uncomfortable.

Levi found Erwin's presence oddly relaxing; the other, however...

Levi wasn't sure who was crazier: _her_ or himself. At first glance, she seemed like a normal woman, albeit one who wasn't concerned with her appearance. Her hair was messily tied back in a ponytail while her clothes were loose and somewhat unflattering, and while her disorganized appearance irritated him, it was her _personality_ that was what initially drove him away. Hange Zöe, as she proudly introduced herself, was an energetic scientist who took a particular interest in the human body. Her loud and cheerful voice grated on his nerves, but he allowed her to stay around because it seemed there was something more to the strange woman, and curiosity got the better of him. And he was right. He soon found that beneath her joyful exterior lay a truly psychotic interior. Hange was a scientist obsessed with the mechanics of pain, and she had no morals whatsoever, as evidenced by her confession of how she'd like to dissect a live person just to see how the body would react. She even asked Levi to be her test subject for pain and hazardous chemicals, in that playful yet dead-serious tone of hers.

He was an incredibly violent person, and she made him seem _cuddly._

_A saint and a sociopath. Lovely._

Despite how much they annoyed him, they were all he had. As he thought of this, the rain came down even harder, a coincidental reflection of his worsening mood.

Though the cold bite of the rain soothed his broken mind, it was dangerous for him to be left alone with his thoughts, which were rapidly growing darker and more twisted with each passing minute. All he could think about was how much he hated _everything_ \--- the world, society, life, and especially himself.

Just looking at his reflection mode him feel sick.

With a sigh, he took out his phone and checked the time, not caring that the rain was probably going to damage it. 1:35 A. M. He should probably head back to his apartment now.

He turned around, walking in the direction of the miserable shelter he called a home. He lived on the eighth floor of the building, and he shared this hellish floor with a mixture of drunken idiots, drug addicts, and overly-loud lovers who apparently haven't heard of volume control. In all, it annoyed him to no end. It was difficult enough for him to fall asleep, but his insomnia worsened every time he heard sounds of intoxicated brawling or pleasure. On the rare nights when all was silent, he was kept awake by erratic thoughts and scattered memories of his horrible childhood. Besides, he couldn't sleep in such a filthy place; the walls and floors were never clean, no matter how viciously he scrubbed them, and he swore that the tile in the bathroom was stained with blood and who knows what else. He supposed his apartment was cleaner than anyone else's in the building, but it still repulsed him.

Unfortunately, this dilapidated hell was all he could afford.

Tonight was Levi's night off, but he generally spent long hours bartending and making very little in the way of income. Almost all of his went to paying for rent and utilities; Erwin was often the one generously paying for the few meals Levi had each week (to which he begrudgingly accepted), but working night after night around people who vomited just about everything they had in their stomachs killed any appetite Levi had.

His lack of proper nourishment left him looking much thinner than he used to be, though he didn't look skeletal unlike the majority of his neighbors. Despite this, he was deceptively strong and could easily bring down larger and taller men in a street fight. His height was less-than-stellar, but that didn't keep him from beating his opponents within an inch of their miserable lives. Life, as Levi had eventually learned, did not care how starving or desperate he was. Life didn't give him any lemons --- it threw the damn things as far from him as possible. And a lack of lemons will make a man resort to a life of crime, and anyone who had been in Levi's unfortunate position would say the same.

In fact, the only reason Levi even has a job right now is because Erwin took it upon himself to help Levi out. _Again._ Levi was in so much debt to the man that he was practically drowning in it.

So, Levi put up with his shitty job just because Erwin worked so hard to find it for him.

As he walked back to his apartment, Levi passed by the large window of a closed-down store, and due to the light from a nearby street lamp, he was met with his sorry reflection. Normally he avoided mirrors, but he unconsciously found himself turning to take in his disheveled figure. He ended up pausing in front of the window, glancing very briefly at the dark, drenched clothing sticking to his body before allowing his eyes to travel to his face. Cold, silver eyes had the thousand-yard stare that clearly evidenced all of the horrors he'd witnessed, and beneath them lay the dark circles of insomnia. Pale skin contrasted sharply with black and trimmed-to-perfection hair. Though his features were not at all feminine, they were no particularly manly either. His jawline was not strong, but rather pointed, and though it was slim it was still quite muscular. Any positive aspects about his appearance were quickly overshadowed by the negative ones, however, and his mind quickly reminded him of the numerous scars and burns hidden beneath the man's clothing.

His scars were one of the reasons why he never searched for a lover or sought physical comfort from another human being. And those damn scars contributed greatly to his self-hatred and his "troubling" (as Erwin reminded him) habit of self-harm.

In truth, Levi has always believed his existence deserves to be punished.

Walking numbly in an unnaturally quiet daze, Levi continued mechanically to his unwelcoming destination. It was as if the world around him had disappeared altogether, leaving him to march infinitely into a dark abyss when no light could be found. And yet he was alright with it. This was the only path he'd ever known, and the idea of walking out of the shadow and into the light terrified him; it would only leave him blinded and helpless.

No... He could never survive in such place. The dark kept him hidden and safe, whereas the blinding sun would render him open and exposed to everyone around him. He'd spent many years carefully constructing his internal walls.

And _nothing_ was going to tear them down. Ever.

Ironically, Levi was so wrapped up in ways to keep himself completely alone that he failed to notice he had company on this desolate stretch of concrete. That "company" also failed to notice someone was in his own path, seeing how he was charging forward while keeping his eyes focused on the ground. The boy was running somewhere, _anywhere,_ that wasn't his sorry-excuse of a home. He wanted to run as far away from there as possible; he didn't even care that he was in a torrential downpour, or that he wasn't wearing warm clothing.

He'd sleep on the street if he had to, as long as he didn't have to face them.

By the time Levi finally heard the frenzied steps coming from behind him, it was too late. In an instant, Levi was flat on his ass, stunned by the sheer force of being slammed into by some idiot who couldn't watch where he was going. After a moment Levi stood and regained his composure while simultaneously glaring at the figure sprawled painfully on the ground. Said idiot had let out a surprised squeak as his body collided with what felt like a wall.

A warm, kind-of-squishy wall that was shorter than him.

The boy slowly looked up, emerald eyes wide with fear. "U-um... I..." he said softly, freezing beneath the icy glare from the man standing before him. A crack of thunder resounded from the night sky, followed by a deadly silence as Levi simply stared at the green-eyed brat.

"Tch," he clicked after a few seconds had passed. With that, he made an abrupt turn and began to continue walking when he heard a desperate "Wait!" come from behind him.

"What do you want, you shitty brat?"

The teen winced at Levi's harsh tone, noting how the man didn't even turn around when he spoke. He said nothing in return, fidgeting nervously as his soaked clothing was beginning to form a puddle around his slender and trembling body.

"Got something to say? Or," Levi hissed as he glanced over his shoulder, "are you going to keep sitting on your sorry ass and staring at me while you waste my fucking time?"

The boy gasped as his face took on an expression of guilt. "I-I'm... I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..." He fell silent, looking away from Levi as he bit back the sobs rising up his throat. Levi, though he didn't want to, found himself sighing and turning toward the kid. Hard eyes softened when they caught sight of the weeping boy but he made no move to help the brat stand.

"Look kid," Levi said as gently as his irritation would allow him, "I'm exhausted and I'm just not in the mood for a conversation. It's two in the morning. Why the hell are you running around in the rain, and in that? At least put on a jacket, you dumbass," he said as he looked at the boy's clothing.

"...I couldn't sleep in my house. Not tonight," the teen sniffled.

"And just where were you going to sleep, hm? In the fucking street?" Levi saw the boy sitting helpless and defeated in his puddle, clad only in a gray t-shirt and dark green sweatpants. He looked like an abandoned puppy, and upon getting a closer look he notices that the bottoms of the boy's feet were bleeding.

Just how long had this kid been running?

"Do you have anywhere to stay?" The boy shook his head.

_Don't do it. Don't you fucking do it, Levi! This shitty brat isn't worth ---_

"Come with me. It isn't safe for a brat like you to walk around alone. You'll stay with me for tonight, but then I'm kicking your miserable ass out in the morning. Got it?"

The teen stared blankly at the man.

"Get up," the man growled, "or would you rather sleep in that damn puddle of yours? I'm feeling very generous right now, but I have no problem with leaving you out here." Levi suppressed an amused smirk when innocent eyes went wide and the teen quickly scrambled to his feet.

"Please don't leave me out here!" the boy squeaked.

"Then hurry up. What's your name, brat?" The boy hurried over to Levi's side, bowing thankfully as he spoke. "Eren! Eren Jaeger! Thank you so much sir, I promise I'll make it up to you! But would you mind telling me your ---"

"Levi. Now shut up and walk," the man interrupted shortly.

Levi began walking once more to his apartment, this time with an annoying brat tagging along. Both walked in silence, Eren looking like he wanted to talk and Levi looking as though he might snap if his precious silence was broken. _What the hell am I doing? And why the fuck is this brat taller than me?!_ Levi frowned slightly as he tried to ignore the fact that his 32 year-old self was, in fact, shorter than this stupid teenage brat.

"How old are you?" Levi suddenly demanded.

"Me? I just turned sixteen a few weeks ago!" Eren said proudly.

_Sixteen. Half my age and already taller than me. God. Damn it._

Upon reaching the door of the apartment building, Levi reached out and angrily jerked it open, the hinges groaning in protest as the boy jumped at the display of aggression. Levi stalked to the elevator, Eren following nervously.

"Um... did... did I do something to make you angry?"

"I'm not angry!" Levi snapped angrily. Eren flinched, looking away with a muttered "sorry" as Levi tapped the button for the eighth floor.

The walk through the hall was, thankfully short for Eren. Not because of a surly Levi, no, but because of a drunk man leaning on the door to his apartment. A drunk man who apparently thought Eren was a prostitute. Eren tried desperately to ignore the vulgar and slurred comments about what the man would do to his "nice ass;" Levi, sensing Eren's unease, grabbed the teen by the wrist and quickly pulled him to where his apartment lay at the end of the hall.

"Just ignore him, brat," Levi instructed in a low voice, "and stay close to me. He won't try anything if I'm around." Eren nodded gratefully, sighing in relief when they reached the man's door.

Before Eren knew it, he was tugged into the apartment, the door shut firmly behind him.

Levi gave the teen hardly any time to take in his new surroundings before roughly shoving the kid into the nearby bathroom. "Wait here. You are _not_ walking around in _my_ house with wet clothing."

"But wait!" Eren cried. "Aren't your clothes also ---"

Levi simply walked away from the boy, heading to his room in search of dry clothing. It horrified him to know he was leaving a trail of water in his wake, but it would dry after a while. He quickly stripped down while he pulled new clothing out of the drawers, drying off with a clean towel he found laying nearby. At least, he hoped it was clean. He certainly wasn't going to return to the bathroom for a towel while completely exposed.

As for Eren, Levi grabbed the loosest clothing he had and hoped they would fit the kid. As soon as he found a shirt and pants that looked suitable enough for Eren's height, Levi returned to the small bathroom he'd left the teen in. Much to his dismay, he felt a twinge of guilt when he saw the boy huddled pitifully in the corner, wet and shivering on the cold tile.

"Here."

"T-thank you," Eren said softly as he took the clothes from the man. "Get dressed and dry off with one of those towels," Levi ordered," and I'll figure out where you're going to sleep."

While Eren changed into dry clothing, Levi gathered two blankets and a pillow (not that he had many to spare) and settled for having the brat sleep on the couch. It was comfortable at least, and it would have to do because there was no way Levi was going to let some kid he'd just met sleep in his bed, and he sure as hell wasn't going to share it with him.

"Levi?"

The man turned towards Eren, who was holding his drenched clothing in his arms. From the look of it, what Levi had handed to him fit rather well; the dark clothing sat comfortably on Eren's frame, and the sleeves that were normally too long for Levi were about the right length for the boy.

The clothes Levi had given to Eren were the right height, and though they were a bit loose for him, they were comfortably loose. The black pants were from a set Levi had bought a few months ago, and while the shirt fit, the pants were a bit too long for Levi's tastes. The shirt Eren wore was a dark grey; the sleeves fit well, but the rest of it was loose enough to where Eren's collar bones were exposed, as was the majority of one of his shoulders. The bottom of the shirt fell past his waist to the upper quarter of his thighs. They weren't a perfect match for Eren's slender frame, but the boy looked content with the soft material.

"Where should I set these?" Eren looked around, seeing nowhere suitable to place the soaked attire.

"In front of the door. And you're sleeping here," Levi replied with a gesture to the couch. "And, unless you're feeling suicidal, don't wake me from my sleep. I mean it. _Don't wake me._ Got it?"

Eren gave a quick nod before giving the man a genuine smile. "Thanks for everything. I'm glad that I get to sleep in a quiet place for once. And in soft clothes, too!"

_A quiet place, huh?_

"... You're welcome, kid."

And with that, Levi walked out of the room, leaving Eren to settle himself down for the night.

\--------------------------------------- ~ + ~ ---------------------------------------


	2. A Special Note to My Few Readers

Firstly, let me apologize to the few readers who were kind enough to leave kudos and comments on this story. I’m deeply sorry for not updating in so long. I’ve been under a lot of stress throughout the past year and a half, and everytime I started on the next chapters something else would come up. I just haven’t been in a very good mental place in a while. I’m very sorry about that.

But, I have been working on a revised version of this, which rewrote some of the chapters that I never got the chance to put up on this site. I was initially going to abandon this completely, but I decided to give it another shot. I’ve been refining my writing, and I’ve improved upon what I initially had. Along with that, I’ve written a few other works that are still in my Google Drive and have yet to be posted. Now that things have gotten a bit easier for me, I’m going to try and write fanfiction again.

To the few who enjoyed this work, even though it only had one chapter, I’m really sorry about all this. I’m going to put up the revised version soon, and hopefully I can update it in a timely manner. Again, I want to thank those who gave me kudos on this. And to Grloul, whose works I really miss. Thank you for your kudos as well.

Also, in the revised version, Grisha isn’t evil. I’m actually going to make him a decent parent.

~Misty Kitty

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for all the description in the first half of the chapter. Since it's the introduction to the story, I've got to establish a setting. Also, I hope the dialogue wasn't too terrible; I wanted to establish Levi's character as temperamental and vulgar in his speech without overdoing it on the language.
> 
> Oddly enough, Levi actually isn't my favorite character. He's my third, following Eren and Erwin, but all three are pretty damn high on the list. I realized though that Levi would make for the most interesting perspective, since you can get the most creative with him and his less-than-enthused view of the world.
> 
> Things to be answered in the next chapter:  
> 1\. Eren's reaction to Levi's OCD about cleanliness  
> 2\. Why the clean-freak Levi left a towel out of place near his dresser  
> 3\. How the clean-freak Levi reacts to a towel out of place near his dresser  
> 4\. Why Eren temporarily ran away in the first place  
> 5\. How Eren manages to get back to his house
> 
> And Eren may be more similar to Levi than Levi first thought. ~
> 
> Anyway, I'll update as soon as I can, but I'm actually writing this in school in a small notebook when I'm supposed to be doing something "productive." What my teachers don't realize though is that angsty Fan Fiction makes for a great lesson in using correct grammar and punctuation.
> 
> Anyway, until next time!  
> ~Misty Kitty


End file.
